The lost has been found!! Hooray!
Our son had taken it into a little antique shop in Winnetoon, Nebraska and set it down somewhere. A piece of furniture at the shop sold and low and behold, Alberta the Moose fell out as they were moving it! The shop owner knew we had been in looking for it and contacted my mother-in-law. As soon as the weather improves enough to take the little ones back out geocaching we'll get it moving again.